Stalker
by SchizoCheese
Summary: The lights. They just flickered.


I curse under my breath.

Those two Corpus crewmen locked me in.  
I'm no good at hacking these terminals.  
It takes me too long.

_I'm trapped_

Madeleine says I will get better with time.  
But this is not a training session in the comfort of our dojo.  
I'm in enemy territory.

_I'm alone_

I don't even have a Sentinel.  
I stand in front of the terminal.  
Trying. Trying for the third time to hack it.

_I'm scared_

The lights.  
They just flickered.

It was not part of his plan. But he was never one to pass up an opportunity like this. He had meant to get rid of that wretched Rhino, who'd been a thorn in his side for some time. He knew his chances of outright victory were quite slim, but if he could at least take the wearer out of commission for a while, that would have been satisfactory. Then he noticed the Rhino's companion – a Nova. He frowned. He recognised her. He had fought wearers of the Nova suit before.

A relatively new entry to the ranks of these accursed Tenno, and he had managed to remove some of them from the playing field entirely. But this Nova was not one he wanted to deal with. She was extremely fast and made a difficult target. He had seen her fight – she was ruthless and savage, and her prowess with the pair of Vastos she wielded was remarkable. While the other Novas he had encountered tried their best to escape him, this one had charged him with her Fragor drawn. Engaging the Rhino alone was challenging enough. If this Nova came to her companion's aid, he would not get out of this encounter alive.

He had observed a third Tenno wearing a Nekros suit, a Warframe that he only had the briefest knowledge of. He had seen it get separated from the other two. Two of the Corpus had chased it into a small room and locked themselves in with it. He heard the Dera fire stop for a while, followed by two gunshots and then groans, and silence. He guessed the Tenno had won that one; for all their technological marvels, sometimes the Corpus had extremely questionable (that is to say, stupid) battle tactics.

Now he was hidden in the shadows of that room, watching. It came to him that this Tenno was of a very low rank, barely out of training. It lacked the air of experience that he was accustomed to seeing. It did not even have a Sentinel with it. Although he would have preferred that it was the Rhino, he was not going to be picky. One Tenno less was still better than one more left alive, after all.

_Everything happened so quickly._

I hear a voice. A voice I do not recognise.  
It tells me that I'm not leaving here alive.  
It tells me that I'm going to die.

_I'm scared_

The lights go dark for a moment.  
Then I see him.

Shrouded with darkness itself.  
I see the bloody glow of his form.

I can't move.  
Is this what real fear is?

_I'm scared_

A sickening crack.  
I feel the pain.  
It sears itself through my head.  
My scream freezes in my throat.

Then like lightning, he's upon me.  
I hit the floor.  
It hurts.

_Make the pain stop_

I can't see through all the blood.  
My eye.  
My eye is gone.

His hand is on my throat.  
I grasp his wrist.  
He's too strong.

He pulls the throwing knife out.  
My head spins from the pain.  
I choke out a cry.

_Please don't_

He pauses, looking intently at me.

_Please don't_

I hear him ask me something.  
I can barely understand him.  
Not through this fog.

_Please don't kill me_

_Please_

_Don't_

He looked at the Tenno, pinned helplessly on the floor. It was trying to push him off but it was clearly drained of strength. He could end its life in an instant. But it had said something that he had not heard before.

_Please don't kill me._

He was surprised. He had never heard one beg for mercy before. Now his curiousity was piqued.

What is he doing?  
He hasn't killed me yet.  
I feel his hand leave my throat.

I can barely think now.  
The pain is a dull ache.  
His hands cover my face.

I feel him pry away what is left of my helmet.  
I can't see his face.  
But I can feel his gaze on my own.

My vision is blurry.  
But I can see him raise the dark shape of the knife.  
He mumbles something.  
He draws the tip of the blade across my cheek.

I hear a whimper escape my lips.  
I'm scared.  
So, so scared.

Underneath the shattered helmet, he saw a young boy, pale hair matted with blood, and his remaining good eye slightly glazed. "You are but a child," he said. "You don't belong here." He rested the tip of the blood-coated throwing knife on the boy's cheek, under his good eye.

"You wear death as a suit and yet you beg me to spare you from it. Is that not amusing?" He pressed down, watching beads of blood form at the sharp point. He drew the knife across the Tenno's skin, opening a bloody trail all the way from just under his eye to the bottom of his jaw. The Tenno let out something that sounded almost like a low whimper.

"I think it's time you get more acquainted with death." He raised the knife again.

He's talking again.  
My mind is fading.  
I can't understand him.

_Please don't kill me_

Then I hear another voice.  
It's one I know.  
She's screaming.  
There's both fear and anger.

I hear pistol shots.  
The dark figure leaps out of my line of sight.  
I hear him curse angrily.

I hear another voice.  
I know this one as well.  
He's yelling.  
His voice trembles with rage.

I feel strong hands picking me up.  
My body lies limp against a broad chest.  
I don't have anymore strength.

I don't know what is being said.  
But just before my mind slips away…  
I finally know.

_I'm safe now._


End file.
